Nearing the End

You might not get what you want, if you think too much about the title of this post.  Nearing the End doesn't mean I am done, finished, dying, or ending any time soon.  It means I am almost to the end of the book about the Beatitudes.  I've been so busy with Garth's operations, getting ready for school, and so many personal things that I haven't had time to stop for a few days.  But I do want to write my thoughts on the last few chapters of the book Blessed Are Ye: Finding Your Unique Path to Christ by Chris Huston.

The last few verses of the sermon called The Beatitudes say:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding lad; for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.   (Matthew 5:10-12)

Right now we are seeing so much of this behavior toward the church, church members, and the good works of the church organization.  It seems like it is coming from all corners of the earth.  With a 'Mormon" running for President of the United States, many people are happy to jump on the bandwagon that those Mormons are a strange group of people.  Some think we are blind followers who can't think for ourselves.  Then when some make different choices than they think a 'Good Mormon' would, they criticize them because they don't do what the church tells them they should do.  We just have to remember that we probably won't ever please all of the people any of the time.  (Boy, do I know that!)

Jesus knew everyone would feel persecution.  He didn't teach His disciples how to react if  they were persecuted, but when.  He reminded them that the natural man is an enemy of God, and don't enemies fight in the natural world?

Bro. Huston points out that the first seven beatitudes are short in length, but when He teaches about persecution he uses a lot more words.  Could it be because we would all feel the pain of persecution, either from our loved ones or from the world for the things we believe?  We have all experienced it, and it hurts, all the time.  The other beatitudes are about characteristics we can cultivate within our selves.  These verses tell us how to react when our believes are criticized by others.  That is a big difference.

When Lehi saw the dream of the Tree of Life he saw people pointing and mocking others who were partaking of the fruit.  He saw that many fell away and were lost because of being mocked.  Satan really knows how to get a bunch of people to follow his desires, doesn't he?  Get a few people to mock others and many will not be able to withstand the finger pointing.  Then Lehi goes on to say "we heeded them not" (1 Nephi 8:33)

I think we are seeing great examples of church members who have been placed in situations when they have needed to defend their own beliefs at the risk of being mocked, reviled, and persecuted.  We have see the church speak up when others have tried to ridicule the teachings and doctrine.  I see words spoken in kindness, with an effort to teach others, to show by example, while at the stand time standing strong to their convictions.  Mocking will always be there.  How we react will show what kind of a person we, individually, are.

I still stand by my favorite statement which is at the top of my blog:  Being mistreated is the most important condition of mortality, for eternity itself depends on how we view those who mistreat us.  -- The Peacegiver p. 33.  I think it is time for me to read this book again.